2XL Supercross (Official Site)

Rating:

Platform: iPhone/iPod Touch
Publisher: 2XL Games
Release Date: April 8, 2009
Reviewed By: Gerasimos Manolatos

Price: $7.99

The Skinny: Go off-road on-the-road with 2XL's first game offering in the Apple Store. Choose from 125cc-, 250cc-, and 450cc- engined bikes and race on 13 tracks designed by Motocross champion Stephane Roncada.

The Good: If you've played anything from the MX vs. ATV franchise, you'll find plenty to get excited about here as well. While the immersion factor from the console versions is obviously a bit hard to program into a pick-up-and-play game, the sights and sounds of the sport make a decent transition. The crowd roars when you pass another rider and boos if you fall back. The bike engines whir with glee upon acceleration and your rider agonizes in pain when you accidentally slam into a wall. The default controls—touch the screen to accelerate and turn the iPod/iPhone left or right to steer—are a tad on the sensitive side, but there are sliders in the Options Menu that allows you to set things to your liking. The inclusion of online leaderboards add some replayability as you try to climb your way up to becoming the world's best finger driver.

The Bad: It's hard to root against a game that kicks things off by displaying a photo of moto-hottie showing off her perfectly formed derriere. (Too bad that's the only eye candy included in the game.) Anyway, we would've loved to see a more arcade-y version of motocross make its way onto the mobile platform, rather than an attempt at another simulation that, though decent, still leaves us wanting something with a bit more action. While the game's graphics are a bit better than what you normally find in the Apple Store, they are only equal, if not a bit less polished, than some of the games on the Nintendo DS. Also, the $7.99 price tag is a bit too hefty for our tastes.

Other Game Features: Three modes of play: Time Trials, Practice and Racing; automatically adjusts number of opponents for optimal performance on your device; four camera views including first person with handle bars; select from 8 preset control schemes; comprehensive in game help.

Buy, Rent, or Disembowel: You can't rent this game, so we recommend waiting it out until the price drops to below five dollars.